If you were to glance across the profiles of parents on social media, you’d be forgiven for thinking that holidays with babies are refreshing, care-free, and enchanting. I want to bury this myth through the medium of photography.

My small but strange family went on holiday last year to Camber Sands in the south-east of dreary old England. The four of us (me, the wife, and the twin creatures) did manage some smiles, of course; I’d say that, on aggregate, we had a good time.

However, I’m so sick of seeing smiling parents and children on Facebook that I decided to show the muddier, grimier side of coin; some might say that the side of the coin I present here is slightly larger than the shiny side.

I’ve gone out of my way to make the following photos look miserable. It seems more appropriate. Sue me.

I think it’s important for parents racked with guilt to know that if they are having a terrible time, it’s not their fault and it will pass. I want parents who feel like they should be enjoying their babies more to know that it is impossible to enjoy them all of the time. Go easy on yourself. They can be awful.

I hear you shouting, “well, if you go to a coastal town in the UK in winter it’s bound to look bleak.” Congratulations, you are correct. It’s also the only kind of holiday we could afford because: twins. (I’m not grumbling… at least we got to go away at all….)

The major problem with holidays is that babies, as wonderful and life-affirming as they are, cannot deal with change. This means that they normally decide not to sleep very much, which, in turn, means you don’t sleep. Of course, sleep deprivation means that everything feels worse, nerves are frayed, and life seems a touch bleaker and more brutal.

Any way, like I say, we did have a nice time (in part), this is just my overreaction to the highly-orchestrated, Colgate smile images on the internet. LIFE WITH TWINS CAN BE TOUGH:

Some of the scenery pictured above is bleak yet beautiful. I think that’s a pretty good representation of holidaying with twins. If you look hard enough, there is beauty, but it is covered in a thick, impenetrable crust of vomit.